STUFF – Moth Design & Death + The Studio Society

Objects have history, and each one shapes us in particular ways. Objects that we have as children, the stuffed penguin, silk from the blanket are all destined to be abandoned. Yet they leave traces that will mark the rest of our lives. They specifically influence how we can develop a capacity for happiness, an aesthetic experience and creative play. They demonstrate to us as children that objects in the ‘eternal’ world can be loved. D.W. Winnicott (an English pediatrician and psychoanalyst who was especially influential in the field of object relations theory) believed that during stages of our lives we continue to search for objects we can experience as both within and outside the self.

The use of transition objects continues through our lives as we imbue objects with meaning and memories that are associated with other ideas, places and people. Photographs, mementos and other memorabilia are used to remember good times and friends. Virtually all possessions have a value in creating the self. What is ‘mine’ is that with which I have a defining relationship, that not only defines the object but also defines me. Possessions can vary in the degree to which they have this effect, and ‘treasured possessions’ have a far more significant effect on the ego if they are lost.Winnicott, D. (1953). Transitional objects and transitional phenomena

STUFFCall for SoCD staff submissions
Do you have a collection of STUFF, which you would like to share? It could be a collection which has been added to over time, bequeathed to you, multiples as a result of habitual buying. It is that the collection represents multiples of an object which are thematically linked.

The proposal is that, if you would like to contribute to this project we would invite you to submit to moth@falmouth.ac.uk an image of the particular collection of ‘Stuff’– (part or whole) along with a word document (500 words max) which gives an insight into your collection. This could be a narrative or a list cataloguing the objects, including a reveal about why you have this STUFF and what it means to you.

The collection will be displayed in the atrium in the lockable glass cabinets which might restrict the sort of objects displayed (we are anticipating that potentially 3 collections could be displayed at once). However, if you have a collection of larger objects, these could be photographed and the images mounted and displayed on the boards. Along with this submission please include a photograph of how the collection is usually stored/displayed/archived.

Basically a conversation is needed with us to resolve how we might accommodate your collection of STUFF.